The Dani Beck affect
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: When Liv met Dani Beck for the first time... jealousy was evident on her face, this is how the story COULD have gone if Elliot had discovered she'd come back!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I haven't done an SVU FF in a while. I don't know if it's been done before, but I was watching the episode when Liv met Dani at the desk, and then thought I'd write a scene from her POV and continue it in a way that SHOULD have happened in E/O world! =)_

The butterflies swarmed her stomach as she walked through the door to the bullpen. A young woman with curly hair was sitting at _her_ desk, she glanced over to Elliot's desk – it was empty. Her eyes searched the bullpen for a familiar face, but she came up empty.

With caution, she approached the woman with curly hair, who was seated at the desk that was once her own. "Excuse me," the woman looked up. "I'm looking for Detective Stabler…"

She narrowed her eyes at Olivia, a look of curiosity plastered on her face. She looked over her shoulder once before turning back. "He's in interrogation. Maybe I can help you. I'm his partner, Dani Beck!"

Olivia felt the air trap in her lungs. _Partner?_ Had he replaced her already? It had only been 5 weeks! Playing her poker-face, Olivia gave away nothing. But she couldn't help noticing that this woman was attractive, at least in a guys-would-glance-back-twice kind of way. Olivia wondered if Elliot was attracted to her, nothing prevented him from making a move if he so desired, since his marriage to Kathy had ended in divorce. Her mind conjured up images of the two of them embraced in a passionate kiss.

The jealousy hit her like a title wave.

"Oh, no that's okay," Olivia stated. Her eyes wondered over the woman's face, still stunned that this was the woman working alongside _her_ partner, _her_ friend. Olivia didn't like her. "Is the Captain in his office?"

"Sure," she replied warily.

Olivia nodded. "Okay," she headed for the Captain's office, a wave of change in the air. She knocked once and opened the door. Cragen's eyes widened with surprise. She wasn't due back, according to word. "Olivia." He stood from his desk. "When did you get back?"

Olivia smiled. It was nice to see a familiar face, in light of all that had happened. "Couple of days ago," she admitted.

"And IPP forgot to notify me," he said with annoyance. "I haven't got a spot for ya. Warrant sent a body to partner with Elliot."

The confirmation stung her. "Yeah, I just met her," she said keeping the coldness out of her voice. She walked to the window. "How's that working out?"

She gazed out the window, at the woman who replaced her.

"It was a rough start," he confessed. "But it's all good now.

Olivia watched then as Elliot approached the desk, and Dani Beck, he leaned down talking to her like they shared a secret. Olivia felt another tug on her heart. It hurt. Her stomach made flip-flop actions as she stared at the man that clouded her dreams, his tight grey t-shirt always finding its way into her imagination. She had always liked that t-shirt on him.

"I can shift Beck out but it may take a little time to find her a new home," he offered.

Sadness crossed her face, a realization that maybe he had moved on from her… maybe he had found something in his new partner that Olivia had never been able to provide. Unable to watch the two of them anymore, she glanced back at the Captain. "No, don't…" she said almost pleadingly. Then Olivia made a snap decision, maybe it was better that she stayed gone, maybe it was better that Dani Beck partnered up with him. He didn't seem miserable, when he had approached his new partner. On the contrary he looked content, sometimes, it was more than Olivia provided him. "I'm not ready to come back," she lied. "That's what I came to tell you."

Olivia turned to leave through the second door, unwilling to pass Elliot through the bullpen. This did not go unnoticed by her Captain.

"You're gonna leave without seeing Elliot?" it was more of an accusation than a question.

"He's busy," she said gripping the door handle. "I'll er- I'll catch up with him later, and uh… don't tell him I was here."

She left before Cragen had a chance to respond. He crossed the room to the window, and glanced out watching Elliot with Dani. It had been a tough road to begin with, they bickered like children, but now it seemed they were at ease with each other.

Cragen sighed heavily. Maybe for now, it was for the best. Elliot was causing less trouble than he usually did, he realized, which was always a good sign.

… … … … … … … … …

Elliot shifted closer to Dani as they sat together in the car. They were on a stake-out, and all Elliot could think about was body heat. It had been this way since Dani Beck walked into his life, an instant attraction. He didn't question why, he was afraid of the answer. It was a rebound from his wife, a chance to explore the dating world again, or as he additionally feared, it was to fill the void of missing his partner. A move he never would have made on her, he could make with Dani Beck, because she was a nobody, an unimportant replacement until his _real_ partner came back.

Dani seemed to hesitate this time, which made him slightly annoyed.

"What?" he asked keeping the irritation from his voice.

"I met some woman a few days ago," she said. "She asked about you, said it like she knew you."

"A lot of people know me," he smiled. "I'm popular, didn't you know?"

His cocky arrogance was ignored by Dani Beck, who shifted away from him, as she held a smile to her lips. "She went into the Captain's office afterwards. She was pretty…"

Those words caught his attention. Was it Olivia?

"What- what was her name?" he asked now more interested in the mysterious woman than Dani Beck.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "She didn't say."

"You didn't ask?"

"I don't ask every name of every woman, Elliot."

He shook his head. "I… what did she look like."

"I don't know, pretty… tall… kinda looked like a tomboy. If she wasn't wearing make-up I might have thought she was a lesbian," she smiled.

It was Olivia, he was always sure of it now.

"No one is here, it's late," he announced suddenly. He didn't even check his watch. "Let's call it a night, eh?"

Dani Beck didn't get a chance to respond. He stared the engine, and drove her home, before making his way back to his own house.

_And there's plenty more where that came from. I just need a little encouragement from you guys… that click-y button below helps… its calling out to you, "PRESS ME"_

_As for the lesbian comment, remember in season 11, I just thought it would fit nicely. I mean no disrespect, and I don't think Liv is one, she loves El too much. _

_=)_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Tension is high… but happy endings will ensure, I promise. =)_

Elliot knocked loudly on the door of the Captain's office early the next morning.

He had lay awake most of the night, thinking about his old partner, the one who had left him without a word, without a contact number, the one who had hurt him by disconnecting her cell phone number so that there was no way for him to reach her.

Why did she come back? He knew she did, by the way Dani described her, and that feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew it was her.

He had tried her cell phone again, but it was still the same message "This number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is out of range, please check the number and try again" he had slammed down his phone and lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't slept a wink.

When the Captain gave no response to Elliot's intrusion knock, he turned the handle and waltzed right in there. Cragen looked up from his desk, slightly annoyed.

"I didn't tell you to come in, Elliot," he stated. "I'm bust right now. Come back later!"

"Did you know Liv came back!" he said ignoring the Captain's orders.

Cragen dropped the file in his hands, onto his desk, and stood up. "Yes," he admitted.

"And I didn't deserve the right to know," he demanded clenching his hand into a fist.

"She asked me not to say anything," he said. "I was obligated."

"You were-" he shook his head in disbelief. "She walked out, and I'm here. And you were obligated to HER!" Elliot was enraged, but more so at Olivia who had come into the office and not bothered to stop by his desk for a simple hello.

"I know how angry you must be…" Cragen said.

Elliot shook his head. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Cap, where?"

"Elliot, she has gone undercover again, she didn't tell me where."

"Find her!" he demanded. His expression was desperate, and Cragen felt sorry for him.

"Talk to Haung," he suggested. "He might know."

Elliot nodded, and stormed out of the office.

… … … … … … …

It took Elliot two hours of arguing to convince Haung to give him the number.

He wasn't happy about it.

Now, as he stood by his desk, the number gripped on a piece of paper in his hand, he hesitated. Why hadn't she come to see him when she was here? Was she angry with him? He knew the tension had been high between them ever since the Gitano case. When he had told her he didn't want to work with her anymore, he had been emotional, it wasn't what he wanted. Olivia was his partner, his best friend. She called him on his crap, and didn't let him get away with all the things that Dani Beck did.

He missed her.

But what if she hung up on him, what if she didn't want to talk to him? She had hung up on him once before, when she was undercover, and the phone was handed over. He had always assumed she was about to be busted, but now he wasn't convinced, now he wondered if it was him, that she didn't want to talk to.

He shook his head, he was over-thinking this.

He punched in the number Haung had given him, and waited for the click of the dial tone. It started ringing.

"Hello…" it was her.

For a moment Elliot didn't say anything.

"Hello… is anyone there?"

He cleared his throat. "Hey, Liv…"

"Elliot?" she sounded surprised.

"Yeah, hi."

"What happened?" panic rising in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he assured her. "I was just calling to say hi…"

There was a long pause. "El, I'm undercover. I can't afford to have you calling me up for small-chat."

He tried to picture her, but her face was distorted. Had it been that long since he'd seen her?

"Cragen said you came by…"

"I did, to tell him I wasn't ready to come back. I had some unfinished business."

"When are you coming back then?" he demanded.

"I don't know…"

Elliot felt the anger rise. "Is this how its gonna be now."

"What do you mean?"

"You left, Liv… without a word. I walked into the precinct and you were gone, your desk was cleared and your number was disconnected. I mean, you just disappeared."

"I couldn't say anything, El, I was undercover," she argued. She didn't sound convincing.

"And you couldn't tell me that before you left?" he snapped.

"I didn't have a choice!"

"There was always a choice. You didn't have to leave. You didn't have to take off without even leaving a note…"

There was a short silence, before Olivia responded.

"What are you complaining about, you got a new partner!' she answered with bitterness.

"You're kidding?" he scoffed. "That's your argument."

"The two of you seem pretty cozy."

"How would you know?" he challenged.

"I can't talk, Elliot."

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

He slammed down the phone in frustration.

"Who was that?" Dani asked approaching her desk.

Elliot ran a hand over his head. "Nobody… it was nobody."

_The tension heats up… okay; I have more in store for you. But just to set you at ease, this FF is about getting RID of Dani Beck (Or Hannah Burley, or Gina or Josh or Demming… It's about eliminating the third wheel of our WOULD-BE couples)…_

_Reviews are nice presents… =)_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: DANI IS EVIL! DANI IS EVIL! DANI IS EVIL! See, if you take the first letter of her name and connect it with EVIL… what do you get? The title of this horrid woman! Hahahaha =D Yes, ignore my sick sense of humor, and read on…_

"What's up you're a** Elliot?" Dani Beck snapped.

All morning he had been acting like a chick with PMS.

"Nothin'," he denied. Okay, so something was bothering him. A little someone who carried the title, Detective Olivia Benson. SHE was bothering him; the trouble was she wasn't in his face to yell at, Dani Beck was.

"Fine," she snapped. "If you don't want to talk about it, don't. But don't lie to me. Sort yourself out, before you ruin this case!" she ordered.

She turned to leave.

"DANI!" he shouted.

She turned around to meet his eyes. "What?"

"It's not you," he confessed.

She nodded. "Good to know."

Elliot found himself pacing the park, when his attention should have been wondering to the suspect they were waiting for. His mind was on Olivia, his attention from the case, long gone.

The loud pop sounded like fire crackers, and his eyes shot in all directions looking for the gunman. In all his years of police training, he knew the difference between a gunshot and a firecracker. The unexpected pain that hit his chest, was overwhelming, and he collapsed to the ground before he could catch himself.

On the ground, he lay looking up at the sky, drifting in and out of consciousness. If he could have found his voice he would have yelled for help, instead, he remained mute. His eyelids seemed heavy, the pain inching its way closer to excruciating, with every breath he took.

"ELLIOT!" the sound of his name being called was faint, but it echoed like a gunshot.

As he allowed his eyes to close, he saw a light… a white light.

_DARE I leave you here… yes, I am THAT mean. I know this is short, but I will upload the next chapter faster. I promise. _

_Will Elliot come out of this alive? =)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Note that Olivia hasn't met her brother yet, so he doesn't exist. =)_

Olivia's heart was pounding as she ran at full speed, through the streets and towards the hospital, with the amount of traffic, it seemed quicker on her feet. Her chest was tight, not from running but from the fear that gripped her insides.

_Please, God, please oh please, let him be okay_, she chanted silently all the way through the streets.

She reached the double doors of the hospital entrance and slowed down. Pushing through, she made her way quickly to the emergency room desk.

A nurse was filing paperwork.

"Excuse me," she panted.

The nurse looked up.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Elliot Stabler… he's a police officer… I was told he was shot."

"Are you family?"

"Um…" her mind buzzed a million miles an hour, trying to come up with a plausible answer. She had been his partner for twelve years. She had spent more hours with him than he had with his whole family combined. Yes, damn it, she was his family. He was also hers, the only family that she knew, the one person she would give her kidney to without hesitation or question. "Yes, I'm his sister."

_Sister_, she scolded herself. _You could have done better than that_.

"Yes, well…" the nurse looked down at the file in her hand. "He doesn't have a sister."

"Look, I'm not nice blood family. But I spend more time with him than they do… I'm his partner. I have been for twelve years, just please…" she begged. "Let me see him for a moment. Is he okay?" it dawned on her then that maybe he was dead. Her eyes widened, and the nurse saw the distressed look on her face.

"He's in recovery, in ICU," she told her. "He's alright. But he is sleeping, and I suggest if you go in there it's for no more than five minutes, do you understand?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Thank you… thank you."

She rushed towards the ICU.

"Detective Benson?" a voice called.

She turned to see a Dani Beck in the waiting room, by the ICU.

A surge of jealousy hit her quickly, but the fear of Elliot's state was stronger, and disappeared almost instantly. "How is he?" she demanded.

"He's okay," she nodded.

"What happened?"

"He wasn't paying attention to the job, he was pacing the park. He had something on his mind."

"Yeah," she nodded remembering. "He does that. He doesn't tell you what it is, you have to guess. So what the hell were you doing when he was getting shot?" she barked. If she had been there, she never would have allowed Elliot to get hurt. She always knew where he was, and she was his back-up, at all times.

"I was doing my job!" she snapped back.

"No, your job is put your partner…" she allowed her voice to trail off. No, Olivia was wrong, her job was to catch the perp, and then attend to her partner, but she and Elliot had changed the rules, they protected each other above anyone else. It was what had got her in this mess to begin with. Why she had walked away without telling him, why he had told her it was better if they didn't work together anymore. Olivia met Dani's eyes. "You left your partner vulnerable, you don't do that… and if he dies… if he dies…" she didn't finish her sentence.

"Are you threatening me?" she demanded.

"I say it like it is," she stated. "I'm going in…" she announced. She turned to leave and stopped a moment, looking over her shoulder. "You don't need to be here anymore, your job is done!"

Dani shook her head and glared at the Detective.

Without another word, she went into the ICU to find him. She approached the bed where he lay, and gently took his hand in hers. He was staring up at the ceiling, and turned his head when she touched him.

"Liv…" he whispered. He flinched. It hurt to talk.

"Don't talk," she insisted.

Elliot coughed, and screwed up his face.

"You stupid boy…" she scolded gently. "Your partner said you weren't paying attention to the assignment… El, how could you be so careless? What the hell were you thinking about?" she demanded.

"You," he said softly closing his eyes.

Olivia sighed heavily and squeezed his hand.

_Yes, I think I will torture you all and leave it here… =)_

_Want the next chapter… how soon? Hehehehe_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Yes, here we go again… I hope you like this chappie… mostly dialogue but enjoy =)_

"Why did you list me on your contacts?" Olivia asked still gripping his hand. She looked down at him, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. "What about Dani… Kathy… your children, why me, El?" she asked gently.

"You came didn't you?" he answered. It was what he had wanted, only her, only Olivia Benson. Every other woman was wiped from his memory.

"Yes," she agreed. "But so did she!" she said bitterly. She wasn't hiding the fact that she hated his new partner, and it did not go unnoticed by him either.

"She was with me when it happened. I didn't call her. I wouldn't have called her," he confessed.

Olivia nodded.

"You left, Liv… why?" he was desperate for an answer, that Olivia wasn't sure she had to give him.

"I just had to," she admitted. "I felt like it was the only way to save our partnership."

"Did we save it?"

"I hope so," she smiled.

… … … … …

As always Elliot signed himself out against the orders of the doctors, thinking he knew what was better for him than they did.

In the hospital corridor, Elliot came face to face with Dani.

"How are you feeling?" she asked cautiously approaching.

"Fine," he nodded. "Thanks."

"Come on… I'll take you home," Olivia offered pulling gently on his arm.

Dani's eyes bore into Olivia's like wildfire. Elliot turned to walk away.

"Did that kiss mean nothing to you?" Dani demanded.

Elliot seemed to blush with embarrassment, as he turned back.

"Do we have to do this here?" he asked.

"Where else?"

"Dani, I…" his eyes moved to Olivia, and she instantly understood. She was nothing to him but an empty spot to fill until SHE came back, and now that she was back, Dani was out. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

Dani Beck nodded. "I'm going to call in a transfer," she announced. "I can't compete with her Elliot, and you know it."

"I never asked you to," he replied.

Dani shrugged. "You didn't have to. I already was." She turned and walked away then, leaving Elliot watching after her.

Olivia watched Dani walk away, relief washing over her. How much had she meant to El? She wondered.

_Who is glad Dani is GONE! =) ?_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I warn you in advance, this is FULL of fluff… hopefully not TOO OOC though. Thank you for reading, alerting, reviewing and reading these crappy little author notes at the end and beginning of every chapter. It is appreciated, and so are you. =)_

_Sorry it took me so long to upload… *sighs* life gets in the way_

Side by side, they sat together on Olivia's couch, a week after Dani Beck had departed. Olivia had asked him over for dinner, knowing that he had only an empty house to go home to, and for once, he had taken the risk and said yes.

"Why did you kiss her?" she asked sudden, a look of sadness crossing her eyes.

He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "What does it matter?" he asked impassively.

"It matters…" she said.

"I could, I guess," he shrugged.

"El-"

"DON'T!" he barked. He looked away from her. This was why he had never invited himself over to her house; it was why he had always made their relationship strictly professional. It was easier that way, easier not to fall into the wrong conversation.

Olivia sighed heavily. "El, please, look at me…"

It took all of his strength to meet her eyes, and what he saw there was the desire mirrored in his own eyes. For twelve years, as long as they had been partnered up, he had pushed away the longing he felt for her. He never made a move, he never asked her to dinner, in fear that it would end in desert of a different kind. He had always been faithful to his wife, not only because it was morally correct thing to do, but because what he felt for Olivia was too special to ruin with a one-night stand. What he felt for her was powerful, overwhelmingly so at times, but definitely powerful.

His hand seemed to have a mind of its own, as his fingers gently brushed the texture of her cheek. She closed her eyes at his touch. "Oh, God…" she moaned softly.

"Liv…" he whispered.

She snapped her eyes open and looked at him.

"Maybe I should go," he admitted. Olivia couldn't form the words to ask him to stay, and so when he rose from the couch, she didn't stop him. He reached the front door before he turned back to look at her. "Dani was a nobody… she meant nothing to me. When you left there was something inside me that snapped, and I needed to know I could break the rules, I needed to know that I could make the mistakes with her that I couldn't with you."

"That doesn't make sense," she frowned.

"Yes, it does," it made perfect sense in his head. He tried to explain it. "It didn't matter if I ruined our partnership over a kiss, it didn't matter if I said all the things I wanted to say to you, because she wasn't permanent, Liv. It was only a matter of time before you came back, before everything went back to the way it was before, when I had to remain silent and I had to stop myself from crossing the line with you. I did, Liv… so many times I stopped myself. But I could break the rules with Dani, I could say what I wanted and it wouldn't matter…"

"You used her?" Olivia asked.

"God no," he snapped. He ran a hand over his head. "Geez, Liv. I'm not like that."

She shook her head. "What then?"

Elliot laughed. "She was you."

"Me?"

He nodded gently and moved her fringe away from her eyes. "Yeah, I got to do something with her, that I never could with you."

"Why not?"

"Why not, what?"

Her voice was unsteady. "Why couldn't you do it with me?"

Elliot shrugged. "I'd just mess it up."

"What do you want to do, El?" she challenged. "Right now… here I am… what do you want to do?"

He leaned in and touched his finger to her lips. "I want to kiss you."

"Okay," she nodded invitingly.

"And then…"

"Yeah."

"Then I want to carry you to your bedroom, and I want to make love to you over and over again," he smiled almost shyly.

"Alright," she whispered. "But you better make your move now, before I wake up."

Elliot grinned then. "Oh, no, for this… you need to be wide awake."

"Okay," she said with a gentle nod, gripping the material of his shirt and pulling him closer. "I'm awake."

Elliot pressed his lips to hers then, and slipped his arms around her waist, beginning the kind of romance that lasted a lifetime.

THE END!

_I know it's sappy, but I was trying something new with SVU… did it turn out okay? Reviews would be MASSIVELY appreciated, even if you didn't enjoy it, that comment is welcome too. =)_


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